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Actress whips up ‘Slice’ of Asian American pie

By Daily Bruin Staff

April 8, 1996 9:00 p.m.

Tuesday, April 9, 1996

Ex-"Friend" brings autobiographical play to campus ThursdayBy
Kathleen Rhames

Daily Bruin Contributor

Ex-"Friend" and girlfriend Lauren Tom isn’t happy about being
dumped. "Tell them to come see Julie and support Ross’
ex-girlfriend!" the actress says of her role on the hit TV
sitcom.

But the days of lamenting are over. Tom is retracing her roots
to the theater, where she is currently performing in "A Slice of
Rice" this Thursday, at 7:30 p.m. in the Northwest Auditorium. Tom
is one of three actors performing in the show, which takes excerpts
from three pieces centering around the lives of Asian Americans.
Naturally, it would seem that performing itself would elicit
anxiety from these actors, but for Tom, the difficulty came from
trying to cut her self-written show into a few select "chunks" to
fit "A Slice of Rice."

"My whole show runs about 40 minutes, and we’re each doing 15 to
20 per performer," she explains. "I had to rework the material a
little bit so that it made sense. It’s not the most ideal situation
to present part of a show like that, but it has a beginning, middle
and end so I don’t take the first 15 minutes and leave everybody
hanging. I take a little bit from each part and weave it
together."

The piece from which Tom takes her excerpts is her
autobiographical one-woman show called "25 Psychics." In it, she
plays herself, a young woman searching for self-acceptance and
meaning in life. The title refers to the numerous, out of the
ordinary adventures Tom has experienced, such as visiting 25
psychics, walking on fire and growing fungus mushrooms.

Yet there is also a serious, touching side to Tom’s show, as she
relates the stories of influential family members who have helped
her through her life.

"I tell my grandmother’s story, and she ends up being quite a
source of wisdom for me", she explains. "A lot of people come and
say ‘that’s my grandmother! You’re doing my grandmother!’ Sometimes
you need to understand who you are and where you come from if you
really want to know more."

Throughout her show, Tom refers to many issues that she feels
appeal more to an Asian audience. She reflects on being the only
Asian girl growing up in an all Jewish suburb, along with specific
family values that pertain to Asian culture. "My show really
applies to Asian American students", Tom says. "When we did it at
Santa Monica College, the part of the audience that was Asian
completely got so much of what I was talking about … not that the
Caucasian audience didn’t … it was just a much deeper
understanding."

Tom will perform some of these excerpts in "A Slice of Rice" on
Thursday along with two other performers, Leilani Chan and Ke’o
Woolford, who have co-written a Hawaiian piece featuring excerpts
about stereotypes and Hawaiian culture. All three individuals are
performers that share their own unique talent and Asian culture
with the audience.

Tom became involved in "A Slice of Rice" while helping out with
a fundraiser for East-West Players.

"They asked me to do an excerpt from the show and ‘A Slice of
Rice’ was also performing," she explains. "I met Noboko, the
artistic director, and she invited me into the group."

For Tom, theater is something she is just beginning to get back
into. Starting at the age of 17, she performed in the stage
production of "A Chorus Line" in New York. It was in the theater
where she feels she received her training. However, not until she
landed the film, "Cadillac Man," with Robin Williams did she make
the move to Los Angeles. In L.A., she began doing more films,
playing significant roles in "The Joy Luck Club," "When a Man Loves
a Woman" and "Mr. Jones." However, it was her recent role as Julie
on the television sitcom, "Friends," that has brought her the most
attention.

"More people know me from my role on ‘Friends’ than from the
‘Joy Luck Club!’" she says lightheartedly. "That’s why TV is really
so wonderful. It pays a ridiculous amount of money and the exposure
is great!"

But when it comes to sheer fun, Tom can’t resist the essence of
the theater.

"Live theater is very magical because it exists only in that
moment for those people," she says. "You can shape your own
performance. Often times you’ll do a movie and who knows how it
will be edited. You spend all day waiting for them to set up the
lights only to shoot a quarter of that time. With theater, you have
more control and it has a definite through line."

Tom takes this philosophy and applies it to "A Slice of Rice."
She calls the evening’s events a "Smorgasbord … a sampler
platter" of performances in which each performance is "its own
world unto itself," almost like a minifestival.

Tom reflects on the message she wants the audience to take home
with them after watching her segment.

"The main idea of my show is to be yourself," she says. "I read
this wonderful quote that said ‘when it’s time to die, God’s not
going to say ‘were you perfect,’ but ‘were you yourself.’ For me, I
struggle to be comfortable enough with myself and to allow me to be
whatever I am and accept that. That’s what my journey is all
about."

STAGE: "A Slice of Rice" at the Northwest Auditorium, Thursday
at 7:30 pm. Tickets available tomorrow only at CTO on a first come,
first serve basis. For more info call (310) 264-6696.

The piece from which Tom takes her excerpts is her … one-woman
show called "25 Psychics.""My show really applies to Asian American
students."

Lauren Tom

Actress-Writer

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